Created: 30th January, 2025
Robert joined Barker in 2002 and is a Partner based in our Braintree office. A Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, he has over 20 years’ experience of all core building surveying services and provides strategic estates advice to key accounts in the education, commercial, ecclesiastical and public sectors.
An education specialist, he provides the following services: estates and energy strategy, asset management planning, project management and capital funding applications.
Robert works closely with clients to plan and implement energy efficiency and sustainability strategies to save money, reduce carbon emissions and meet ESG objectives.
As a RICS Certified Historic Buildings Professional he provides conservation consultancy for clients with listed and historic buildings.
Robert is an experienced APC Assessor and Chairman and is also an external examiner for Anglia Ruskin University
As a Partner Robert leads the Business Development and Marketing function at Barker, builds relationships with key sector bodies and helps steer the strategic growth of the company.
Email: rgould@barker-associates.co.uk
Tel: 01279 648057
In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, the digitisation of estates represents a huge opportunity for schools and trusts to drive efficiency and optimise outcomes. The ability to collect, collate, and analyse estates data is transforming how schools operate, enabling centralised decision-making, breaking down silos for strategic planning, and driving operational efficiency.
Centralised Decision-Making: By digitising school estates, decision-makers can access a unified source of truth. This centralisation ensures that all stakeholders are working with the same data, leading to more informed and cohesive decisions.
Breaking Silos for Strategic Planning: Traditional methods of managing school estates often result in fragmented data spread across various departments. Digitisation breaks down these silos, allowing for comprehensive strategic planning that considers all aspects of the school environment.
Driving Operational Efficiency: With digitised data, schools can streamline operations, reduce redundancies, and optimise resource allocation. This efficiency translates into cost savings and improved educational outcomes.
To fully leverage the benefits of digitisation, schools need to focus on multiple data sources such as:
Building Information Modelling (BIM) and the creation of digital twins are revolutionising how data is accessed and utilised. BIM provides a 3D graphical representation of the property, serving as a spatial database where data can be linked to any object within the model. This integration makes the data more accessible and engaging for stakeholders.
Digital twins take this a step further by creating dynamic, data-rich representations of the built environment. These models are enriched with layered data, including condition, compliance, pupil capacity, and space utilisation, delivering greater insights and driving operational efficiencies.
Barker’s EO Portal is a powerful tool that enables schools to collate, report, and analyse their estates data effectively. The portal’s visualisations and tools allow for high-level strategic decisions, benchmarking sites, or drilling down to the details of a specific building or element. By integrating data streams, schools can create custom dashboards that provide real-time insights and facilitate data-driven decision-making.
The Department for Education’s Good Estate Management for Schools (GEMS) guidance recommends the effective use of data to manage school estates. By following these guidelines, schools can ensure they are meeting best practices and optimising their resources.
The journey to a fully digitised estate begins with digitally scanning all schools in a portfolio, developing comprehensive models for each site. These models are then enriched with layered data to create digital twins. Advanced software platforms enable seamless data integration, visualisation, and reporting, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making.
Plymouth CAST trust has worked with Barker and BIM specialists, Building Spatial Intelligence, to unlock efficiency through the use of data. By leveraging digital twins and advanced data analytics, Plymouth CAST has significantly improved its operational efficiency and strategic planning.
Barker, Building Spatial Intelligence, and Paul Stewart from Plymouth CAST will be presenting this concept at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) CFO/COO conference on 6th February. This presentation will provide further insights into the benefits of digitising school estates and how it can transform school management.
To learn more about how digitising your school estate can unlock efficiency and drive strategic decision-making, please contact us. Our team of experts is ready to assist you in harnessing the power of data for your school.
By digitising the school estate, schools can unlock unprecedented levels of efficiency and strategic insight. Embrace the future of school management with Barker and take the first step towards a smarter, data-driven approach to managing your educational environment.